Cars.co.za report offers interesting insights
Cars.co.za recently launched Industry Report 2026 at its DealerCon summit, offers insight into the forces shaping South Africa’s vehicle market.
- Dealer News
- 22 September 2026
South Africa’s breading ground of top automotive executives has produced yet another world leader – this time Trevor Hill, head of the Audi brand, who leaves Audi South Africa at the end of August 2020 after a three-year stint back in his homeland.
Trevor, who “came back home” in 2017 to join Audi South Africa two decades after leaving his country of birth, now returns to Audi’s headquarters in Germany after a successful three-year contract here.
In his twenty years overseas, Trevor gained invaluable experience as part of the Audi brand in countries including Germany, Japan, China, South Korea and the Middle East.
Before returning to join Audi South Africa on 1 June 2017 as brand head responsible for sales and markting of the Audi brand on local shores, Trevor worked as director in internationalisation at Audi AG in Ingolstadt for nearly two years. The previous 2½ years he was managing director for Audi Volkswagen Middle East representing the Volkswagen Group within the Middle and Near East.
Trevor studied education at Wits (1983-’86) and did his MBA in marketing at Anaheim University in California in the USA in 2004-’05.
His first managing job in the automotive world was as area sales manager for Volkswagen South Africa (1989-’93) followed by a six-year stint as training manager at Audi AG in Germany. He then headed east where he worked at Audi Japan (2002-’04), Audi China (2004-’06) and Audi Korea (2007-’12) before Dubai, Germany and eventually back to South Africa.
Trevor’s contract finishes on 31 August 2020 after three successful years at the helm, after which he will return to Audi’s global headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, where he will be taking up a new position within the Audi Sport division from 1 September 2020.
Other noteworthy South African executives who started, developed or perfected their trade in local automotive business include:
Thomas Schaefer, Volkswagen SA chairman and managing director who has left the Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) to join ŠKODA Auto in the Czech Republic as new Global CEO, effective 3 August 2020;
Richard Carter (formerly BMW SA) as international chief of communication at Rolls Royce;
Ian Robertson (formerly BMW SA) who was appointed marketing director of BMW AG;
Johan de Nysschen, formerly with Audi South Africa) and now Chief Operating Officer at Volkswagen Group North-America;
Rudi Venter, a former motoring journalist (deputy editor, Topcar Magazine) who started his corporate career at Audi SA, and is now General Manager Marketing at Audi Singapore.
Trevor re-introduced Audi’s participation in local motorsport where the brand subsequently won the Global Touring Cars (GTC) Championship for drivers and manufacturers in 2017 and 2018.
“Trevor has always been an excellent team player and an ardent ambassador to the Audi brand,” said Mike Glendinning, Sales and Marketing Director for Volkswagen Group South Africa. “On behalf of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group South Africa, we would like to thank him for his contribution to the Audi Brand in the local market and wish him well in his new assignment,” Glendinning concluded.
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